mill

I. noun Etymology: Middle English mille, from Old English mylen, from Late Latin molina, molinum, from feminine and neuter of molinus of a mill, of a millstone, from Latin mola mill, millstone; akin to Latin molere to grind — more at meal Date: before 12th century 1. a building provided with machinery for grinding grain into flour 2. a. a machine or apparatus (as a quern) for grinding grain b. a machine for crushing or comminuting 3. a machine that manufactures by the continuous repetition of some simple action 4. a building or collection of buildings with machinery for manufacturing 5. a. a machine formerly used for stamping coins b. a machine for expelling juice from vegetable tissues by pressure or grinding 6. milling machine, milling cutter 7. a. a slow, laborious, or mechanical process or routine b. one that produces or processes people or things mechanically or in large numbers <

a diploma mill

> <

a rumor mill

> 8. a difficult and often educational experience — used in the phrase through the mill 9. the engine of an automobile or boat II. verb Date: 1511 transitive verb 1. to subject to an operation or process in a mill: as a. to grind into flour, meal, or powder b. to shape or dress by means of a rotary cutter c. to mix and condition (as rubber) by passing between rotating rolls 2. to give a raised rim or a ridged or corrugated edge to (a coin) 3. to cut grooves in the metal surface of (as a knob) intransitive verb 1. to hit out with the fists 2. to move in a circle or in an eddying mass; also wander 3. to undergo milling III. noun Etymology: Latin mille thousand Date: 1786 a money of account equal to 1/10 cent IV. variant of mil II